The Minehead Hobby Horse

Minehead in Somerset has a May tradition involving a decorated hobby-horse figure and accompanying performers. Although hobby-horse customs appear in several British communities, each has its own documented history and local form.

Comparisons with Padstow are useful, but resemblance does not prove that the two celebrations have identical origins. Descriptions of the Minehead event should distinguish observation from speculative reconstructions of its earliest history.

Place: Minehead, Somerset. Evidence: documented calendar custom. Source trail: local Minehead tradition records and Folklore Society studies of May customs.